Two Cheers for the Great Books
Recently, Luke Burgis, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Catholic University of America, posed a provocative question: “What is the strongest argument from the political Right AGAINST Great Books programs?” In my view,…
Posts tagged with
“Great Books”
“Let Them Be Born in Wonder”
The 2025-26 academic year began with a fell note of doom for the humanities. Dr. Jenn Frey at Tulsa University had built a beautiful Honors College grounded on the Great…
Five Steps to Revive the Liberal Arts
For centuries, the liberal arts have been a cornerstone of academic life at Western universities. A liberal-arts education offers an interdisciplinary foundation in the humanities, natural and social sciences, and…
Help College Students Read
Gone are the days when reading a book was the preferred means to knowledge, replaced by the rapid consumption of digital media and the allure of screen-based entertainment. This phenomenon…
Ten Books We Want Under the Tree in 2024
The Martin Center’s in-house library continues to grow, boasting over 900 books and journals as of this writing. Nevertheless, a higher-ed policy institute needs a constant infusion of new titles,…
A New Liberal-Arts University Arises
Ralston College counts among its first graduates a 24-year-old man who, in his third term of study, asked me what he could do to help ensure our fledgling institution would…
“To Carthage Then I Came”
College freshmen have just completed their first semester at their chosen schools. All over the country, and indeed all over the world, dorms have been settled into, majors and classes…
Will UNC Libraries Toss Their Books?
If you’re of a certain vintage you might recall diminutive octogenarian Clara Peller barking the signature line on a Wendy’s commercial: “Where’s the beef?” And if you are in that…
Preserving the Canon: Great Books Programs at America’s Colleges and Universities
Historically, higher learning was based on the study of the Great Works of thought of the Western canon. These works span a broad range of time, from the Classical period,…
A Response to the Cynical Student
You’ve heard the complaints: When am I ever gonna use this? How is this relevant to the real world? How is reading Shakespeare going to make me a better banker?…